prologue
Prologue
"I'm so sorry, my beautiful daughter, but I have no choice," I held my newborn daughter in my arms while tears streamed down my cheeks. A gasp left my mouth as a dagger appeared in Hades' hands.
"Your husband is near, Audrey," Hades warned, never taking his eyes off Isabella, my daughter. The hunger in his eyes made me shiver, he looked as if he wanted to crush her, I jumped when the bedroom door burst open. My husband's eyes were wide with disbelief but there was no way he couldn't have known this was coming.
Before I could say anything he demanded, "give me my daughter, I will not sign her soul away to the devil. You can take mine or even my selfish wife's. Aud, you can't let this happen."
My jaw dropped, "I'm doing this for you! To save your life! He'll let her grow up in peace and he'll watch over her and make sure no harm comes to her and then he'll reveal himself to her on her 18th birthday." It wasn't an awful deal to save the life of the man I loved. Isabella would surely make the same decision if she had the chance. This would give her a better life than my husband and I ever could.
Hades waved his hand to silence us and we both obeyed. "It is your crime," his gloved finger pointed at Jakob, my husband, "therefore I will take your soul and you will burn in Tartarus for the rest of eternity and trust me when I say that you don't want that to happen. Your lovely wife isn't a soul that I will accept instead of yours, but your beautiful Isabella has a soul that I want."
"I would gladly burn in hell if it meant keeping my child away from you," my husband spat.
"He's going to protect her!" I tried to tell him, but Jakob wasn't listening. Hades was walking across the room and he placed his hand on my husband's shoulder. I looked down at Isabella then back at my Jakob, who's eyes were blank, but the look on his face was pure horror. There was no saying what Hades was showing him, but hopefully it would change his mind.
"So we are all in agreement then?" Hades grinned as he pulled out his dagger with a large ruby and symbols I couldn't decipher.
"Why do you want our daughter so badly?" my husband inquired.
Hades tsked and put a hand on each of our shoulders, I flinched but was curious as Hades started speaking. "Your daughter is going to be the most beautiful mortal to ever walk this earth. Helen of Troy would look like a hag next to Isabella and some will say that even Aphrodite pales in comparison. I want to stake my claim on her before the other gods take notice of her. Especially with her siren blood, she'll be able to pass between the realms and she can be easily taken." I gasped when I saw a beautiful girl with long, thick, curly hair that was almost black at her roots and a chestnut brown at the ends, was standing in front of me. Her eyes were a gorgeous hazel with hints of green, her cheeks were lightly splattered with freckles and her cheekbones were slightly visible but her face had a round shape and an undefined jawline. I looked at the purple fitted dress she was wearing that hugged her in all the right places and her breasts were full unlike mine and she had curves that I couldn't help but be a little jealous of.
I jumped when I felt Isabella being taken out of my arms by Hades and then the girl in front of me was gone. "That was our daughter?" Jakob asked in disbelief. How could I have not realized?
"Yes, that is what your darling Isabella will look like when she is 18 and I introduce myself to her. If you sign away her soul to me I will make sure that no harm comes to her and that she lives a normal first 18 years of her life."
My husband looked at me then nodded and Hades grinned scarily and poked my daughter in the heel with the dagger. At that moment I regretted what I was doing. My daughter didn't deserve to pay for the sins of her father. I guess it is true what they say, love makes you do crazy things, but even though I loved him, I loved my daughter more. "Please do not hurt my daughter after today. That dagger should be the worst of her pain inflicted by you."
"Do not act like you wouldn't have let me kill her if it meant saving his life," he laughed and sneered at Jakob. The worst part of those words is that nine months ago that was true, I had wanted no part in having a child and he was the only person I had, but my love for my Isabella was stronger than anything to exist now.
"We will protect her to no end, Hades. She's our daughter, but I guess someone like you could never understand parental love as your parenthood is a little complicated." My husband took our daughter back into his arms and for a second I felt like we could handle anything together.
Hades glared at him, "I assumed you would've learned your lesson about disrespecting me by now. For that you won't even live to see the day she turns eighteen, but I will never let a soul hurt her. You have my word. Goodbye for now, Jakob and Audrey."
Before he could leave I asked, "How does a god like you's word hold any honor?"
"I am the first born of the Titan of Time, Chronos. I assure you that my word holds even more honor than the so called mighty Zeus. Your Isabella will be safe for as long as I live and I am immortal." He was gone so fast I couldn't even protest. I dryly laughed at the last thing he said. Hades was going to live forever so hopefully that meant he would protect our daughter forever.
"I love you, Audrey. We will prepare her for this and at least she'll be safe with him," Jakob took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze while Isabella was in his other hand. I wouldn't tell him then but I wasn't going to let her know the truth about any of this before the day Hades showed up on our door step. No child needed to know the things we knew.
I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all, "I guess we did good with picking a name that meant beautiful for her." I stroked her head and smiled, but remembered something that Hades had said. "What did he mean when he said that you wouldn't live to see her turn eighteen?"
"It doesn't matter. If she's anywhere near as brave as my beautiful wife then you two will be just fine."
"Oh now I'm your beautiful wife? A few minutes ago I was your selfish wife," I raised my eyebrows at him even though I knew it had just came from his love for our daughter and wanting to protect her at all costs. I wasn't sure I could talk about him dying one day without bawling my eyes out.
Jakob looked me in the eyes, "there is nothing selfish about protecting the people that you love and that's all that you were doing for me. I'm sorry for saying that."
"I don't know how I'm supposed to do this without you one day, Jakob."
"I promise you that everything is going to be okay. You are the strongest woman I have ever met. You are going to be the best mom ever," he smiled at me and I knew that we were going to figure it all out together.
"I love you."
